Sunday, December 16, 2012

Kettlebell Swings: Lateral Relay Drill

One of my favorite activities in
a group exercise setting is the Lateral (Side-Pass) Relay Drill. This activity
forces participants not only to lock in correct biomechanics - it challenges
balance, hand-eye-coordination, footwork, timing, and teamwork.

The concept is rather simple, you
swing a kettlebell and on the top of the swing, you release the kettlebell
laterally and make a pass to one side where your partner is ready to receive
the kettlebell in mid-air. Once you release the kettlebell, you run behind your
partner to receive the kettlebell in mid-air just as you passed it a moment
ago. This drill can be done every other swing, every three swings (for
beginners) or during every swing (for advanced participants).

Here’s a video of the Lateral
Relay Drill:

At this time, I’d like to
introduce Elinor Smith who was featured in the above video. Elinor is a senior
fitness instructor extraordinaire. She teaches senior fitness classes and
one-one-one sessions in America’s Finest City - San Diego. During the making of
this video, Elinor had just turned 79 years of age!! I hope many of you reading
this blog are thinking: “Wow. I have NO excuse.” In fact, Elinor is in such
good shape that there are times I fear I can’t hang with her during a
one-on-one workout session – she is truly an inspiration. If you’d like to
contact Elinor, she can be reached at: ERSEdCons@aol.com

Here are a couple pointers for
the Lateral Relay Drill:

Avoid wrist flicking during your
release. If you suddenly flick or extend your wrist when you pass the
kettlebell to your partner, what tends to happen is that the kettlebell will
flip in mid-air. This makes it difficult to make a successful relay and the
kettlebell will be dropped. Now for advanced groups, the flip becomes a new
variation of this drill – if you’re learning this exercise, keep it simple. No wrist
flicking… No flips! Do your best to keep the kettlebell handle level during the
mid-air pass.

Stand shoulder to shoulder! After
all, this is a team building exercise. You need to be very close to your
partner in order to pass AND receive the kettlebell successfully.

Run behind your partner the very
moment you release the kettlebell for the mid-air pass. Most beginners tend to
freeze right after the pass. By that time, you’ll be too late to receive the
bell as it will already be on its way to the ground. If the run behind becomes
too quick for beginners, you can add a third or fourth participant to allow for
more lag time.

DON’T SAVE THE BELL! If you feel
you’ve made a bad pass, or, will be unable to receive the bell… do NOT lurch
forward and try to save it. That’s a great way to break biomechanical
discipline and wreck your back (or shoulder … or neck… or wrist… or elbow… you
get the point) – don’t do it! If a bell goes out of control, yell out to your
partner (or group) and say “DROP!” Let
the kettlebell thunk against the floor and start over. No harm done.

Communication: You heard in the
video that Elinor and I constantly said “One and PASS”. This cued the both of
us to be ready for the pass as passer and receiver. This communication helps
eliminate mistakes and primes participants to help each other out if the
unexpected flipped kettlebell were to take flight. Communication is key to all
forms of team building activities.

I hope you enjoyed this variation
on the kettlebell swing and team relay activities. I want to make a comment in
that individuals like Elinor are great examples of what true health and fitness
can look like. She is a model of what society's future in public health should be. If we
don’t influence each other to commit to the health she exhibits, we are all in
for a lot of trouble in the next 50 years.

As we come across the holidays
and usher in 2013, let this be an encouragement to you in refocusing not only
your efforts, but the efforts of your family and friends – choose to be well,
choose to exercise, choose to make healthy life choices. This exercise can be a
way to lock in a positive new habit. Fitness goals are always better achieved
through camaraderie and group accountability. Commit yourself to do this
exercise weekly with a group of friends or family – you’ll be shocked and
encouraged as to your progress in meeting your New Year’s fitness goals.